[This reflection by Dazz Jones was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 14/Jan/2024]
I don’t know about you but in the hustle and bustle of daily life, I find it’s not long before I begin to feel a little disconnected from God. However, the heartening and unchanging truth is that each one of us has the extraordinary opportunity to know Jesus personally and engage in heartfelt conversations with God every single day!
The very heart of the good news is the idea that we are not merely spectators in a distant relationship with ‘God on high’, but that we are his adopted children! So we are invited into an intimate and personal connection with Jesus. The writers of the Bible remind us that He is not a distant figure but a friend who walks beside us, understanding our joy, sorrow, and everything in between.
In prayer, we open a direct line of communication with Him, the Saviour and one through whom the universe was created. It’s an incredible opportunity to be able to open up our thoughts, concerns and feelings and invite Jesus in. In those moments of prayer, we can experience the profound reality of a God who listens, cares, and responds. It can be a transformative experience that changes our lives. It would empower us to face challenges with faith, find comfort in times of despair, and celebrate the blessings that surround us.
I am reminded by the Essential Jesus reading for Sunday 14th Jan, (which is the account of the temple being built and the people of God celebrating!) that being able to ‘commune with God’ is something I may just take for granted sometimes. The people of God were so excited to finally have a place to meet God in that they sacrificed so many of their livestock that the people forgot to count them. I wonder if the equivalent would be something like us giving away our homes, cars or life savings to charity in God’s name (I’m just guessing here … ) but I don’t know if I’ve ever felt excited enough to even approach that level of excitement.
As we move forward this year may God remind us that we are welcome to know Him and encourage us to pursue that goal with great gusto!
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Last week’s reflection: Walking in His Footsteps by Dazz Jones
Contributed by Dazz Jones; © Dazz Jones